We spent a day learning about Owls with Mother Goose Time. We started the day by discussing what we already knew about owls. The kids are huge owl lovers and volunteered that owls are nocturnal, eat mice, and vocalize in different ways including hooting (Great Horned Owl) and screaming (Barn Owl).
The kids colored the provided owl coloring sheets and practiced saying the Spanish form of owl. Ladybug (3 years) is starting to pay closer attention to detail while coloring and Owl (2 years) is doing a much better job of keeping his crayons on the paper. We also reviewed how to say owl with American Sign Language.
We met our Global Friend from Venezuela. We found South America on our global map and located Venezuela. We discussed how this country is much warmer year round than where we live and that many of the birds stay there all year long, rather than migrate. We looked at some online pictures of Venezuela and listened to traditional Venezuelan music while pretending to be owls flying around in the warm sun.
Snow Owl Puppet
We created snow owl puppets with a simple owl cut out, googly eyes, cupcake liners, and a craft stick. We compared our owl to the owl on the daily topics poster. We then looked up images of other owls and differentiated between the Great Horned Owl and Screech Owl (size) and the Great Horned Owl and the Snowy Owl (color).
Pass the Pattern
We reviewed the sounds that owls make. We reviewed the sounds that bears make. We then continued an AABB pattern series using the cards provided by Mother Goose Time, hooting and roaring as appropriate as we placed each card.
Owl Shapes Game
The kids had a great time reviewing the shapes of the stackable shape manipulative for this month. They matched shapes with the owl cut out shapes and then stacked them. Owl also spent some time working on his colors.
Silent Night Owls
For this activity, it was suggested that jingle bell counters (an included manipulative) be hidden in a darkened room and then allow the kids to hunt for the bells. We decided that since we had unusually warm weather it would be fun to let them complete this activity outside. I hid jingle bells in the backyard and the kids donned their recently retired Halloween costumes; Ladybug was a purple owl and Owl was a blue owl. This was a huge win with the kids: they were outside at night, they got to use flashlights, and they got to find jingle bells. The whole family had fun with this activity.
The recommended book for this daily topic was Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. The mother owl goes hunting and the three young chicks anxiously await her return. I love to involve Dad and Grandma in our homeschooling by giving them the chance to read to the kids. Both kids really enjoyed this book and it has become a favorite that has been read several times. By the end of the week, the kids could recite the entire book.
We closed our Owl day by discussing what we would like and not like about being an owl. Ladybug thought she would enjoy staying up all night, but didn’t want to be outside in the dark without a flashlight. Owl liked being able to hoot, but wasn’t keen on eating mice.
Are you home schooling a preschooler?
I’m looking to connect with other parents who are homeschooling preschool and I’d love to hear from you!
As a blog ambassador for Mother Goose Time, I am happy to share preschool curriculum ideas, activities, and crafts with my readers. Mother Goose Time provides our family the opportunity to use their curriculum free of charge in exchange for honest and authentic stories based on our personal experience.
Cool! Thanks for posting the pattern picture! When i did this with my daughter with Ocean Commotion I was worried that I didn’t do it correctly. We are homeschooling as well, my daughter is turning 4 in Jan. We’re on our second month of curriculum, In the Orchard but have gotten into a routine that we should be able to do the rest of the themes from Jan onward. look forward to getting ideas from here!
Hi Rachel – So glad you took the time to say hi and comment 🙂 I’m really glad the picture helped. My Ladybug turns 4 in August. Looking forward to sharing ideas – welcome to Mother Goose Time!!!